OT -Getting rid of cable

[sherry7899]

We currently have Verizon Fios. We use it for our internet and landline (which we may be getting rid of also).

We are frustrated by the cost, and the continual problems with using on demand. A lot of times it does not load. Anytime I call for technical support they want me to disconnect the cable box hookups, which is a pain for two our tvs since they are in entertainment centers and it's really hard to get to the hook ups. The reception for some channels is not great either (and we live in a pretty populated area with flat landscape-no mountains to interfere with reception). There are also a ton of channels we NEVER watch.

If you have cut the cord from cable, what do you use? We still want the major networks and would also like to get local news if that is possible.
I will miss the variety of PBS stations we have, though. We get them from NYC, NJ and two areas of Pennsylvania.

I am going to look into Hulu and Roku.

We see tv ads for using antennas, but I have a feeling they would not work well in our area.

Any input would be welcome.

Thank you !
Sherry

[Carol K]

I cancelled my cable TV in 2013. At that time I had Limited Basic service, but Comcast encrypted even those channels in 2013, requiring a cable box. I have a TV and DVD recorder with digital tuners and I like watching one channel while recording another without paying for DVR. You can't do that with a cable box. I didn't think an antenna would work for us (we live in Chicago surrounded by trees and tall buildings), but I got a Micron-R DirectStream and it works beautifully. There is an intermittent problem with CBS, because it's the only VHF channel in the city. My backup solution is Chromecast. If a show is pre-empted, or I forgot to watch it or record it, or I didn't get a good signal on CBS that day, I use Chromecast to stream it from the network website to our TV. I still use Comcast for our internet service.

[sherry7899]

Thanks, Carol! I have not heard of that. I will look into it.

Does anyone use Sling tv? That is another option.

Sherry

[sheepla]

Originally Posted by sherry7899

Thanks, Carol! I have not heard of that. I will look into it.

Does anyone use Sling tv? That is another option.

Sherry

I have not read this whole thread but we switched to Sling TV about a year ago and have been very happy with it. It does not play well through the XBox but it plays great through our Amazon TV stick. I pretty much only watch HGTV, Food Network and History Channel so it meets all my demands. Our cable bill dropped from $120 a month to $20 a month without giving up any of the channels we actually watch.

[sherry7899]

Sheila- thanks! I think we will do a free trial. My son has a PS 3 in his room so we would need to test to see if it works in there.

[antbuko]

Originally Posted by sherry7899

Sheila- thanks! I think we will do a free trial. My son has a PS 3 in his room so we would need to test to see if it works in there.

Playstation is another option for you! I actually did a free trial of Playstation Vue on Roku and I didn't care for it, but you might have better luck with it, being that your son has an actual Playstation.

[Cher]

We have never had cable so our solution is probably really old and outdated and alot of work but it was the only solution 23 years ago when we moved into our house. My DH put a regular old fashion TV antenna in our attic (so it's not sitting on top of our roof for everyone to see). He then ran the wiring down into the basement then got a spilter (or something like that) and conncected all our TV's to the antenna.....we have 4. Most of the channels came in pretty well but since we had trouble with a couple, he bought a booster thing and wired that from the antenna and placed it in our cabinet. This way, if there ever is a problem, you can turn the dial and it will rotate the antenna in the attic to see if we can get the channel in any better. We rarely ever have to use it though because just attaching it to the antenna boost our signal so we get an even clearer picture. BTW, we live about 45 miles from the city where all the tv stations are broadcast from.

Sherry....are all your TVs digital TVs? My tv in the basement where I workout isn't so I had to attach a digital box to it in order to watch it when they changed all the channels to digital. (I rarely watch it though.....just run my dvds to it).

My tv in my kitchen is not hooked up to the antenna so I had to buy an antenna to attach to the tv which works most the time; although, on windy days it sometimes doesn't get the signal as well. I'd really like to get rid of those because I hate how they look but we've tried a couple small type antennas that just attach to the back of your tv and don't look hideous.....but I could only get like 2 channels with them, so gave up on that idea. Carol, how far are you from where your signal comes from? I'm wondering if that would work for this tv??? I just looked it up and it says 35 miles so I'm probably still to far for this.

Also, like Carol, we also have a dvd player/recorder that gets a digital signal so that we still record shows when we want to.

I do also watch streaming stuff occasionally from Netflix or Amazon thru my Wii U and my internet. We only have AT&T Broadband for internet but it still works for streaming.

[Carol K]

Cheryl, we're probably pretty close to the signal, although our windows don't face in the optimum direction. Our antenna sits on a stand next to our TV facing a window. I never touch that antenna. We get about 47 channels, although some of them are duplicates and I only watch 6 of them. The TV in the basement has a digital tuner, but no antenna and I only use it for workouts. There is a small window near it and one of those flat antennas that you put in the window might work, but I haven't tried it.

[sherry7899]

Cheryl-all of our tv's are digital except for one. We would need to figure out something for that one.

Thanks!
Sherry

[Carol K]

Update: They recently added a UHF channel for CBS in Chicago, so I don't have to use Chromecast as much as I used to. I primarily use it for streaming BeMax workouts.

Originally Posted by Carol K

I cancelled my cable TV in 2013. At that time I had Limited Basic service, but Comcast encrypted even those channels in 2013, requiring a cable box. I have a TV and DVD recorder with digital tuners and I like watching one channel while recording another without paying for DVR. You can't do that with a cable box. I didn't think an antenna would work for us (we live in Chicago surrounded by trees and tall buildings), but I got a Micron-R DirectStream and it works beautifully. There is an intermittent problem with CBS, because it's the only VHF channel in the city. My backup solution is Chromecast. If a show is pre-empted, or I forgot to watch it or record it, or I didn't get a good signal on CBS that day, I use Chromecast to stream it from the network website to our TV. I still use Comcast for our internet service.